Leia
by RemyTheReaper
Summary: Three years is a long time. People grow and change, and before you know it, nothing is the same and the world can't help but spin a little out of control. Kudley. slightly AU, T to be safe
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi! So this is a new project I'm really excited about, some of it takes place in present day time for the show, and some of it takes place several years into the future. It will alternate with each chapter. This chapter is a future chapter...enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own House or any of the characters. Actually that's not true, I own Ms. Harvey, Robbie, and Hayden. I share Leia with Revengent who is awesome and read this over for me before I posted it :)**

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Lawrence Kutner couldn't remember ever walking down this hallway before. He had been working in the hospital for several years now, but never before had he seen the life sized cartoon characters that were now grinning down at him from every direction. But then again, he had never had any reason to be going to the daycare before this. He had only been working in pediatrics for a few months, ever since his fellowship with House had expired, and Cuddy had offered him the position and a raise. It was true that he had seen some of the daycare residents when they got sick, but this was his first experience with an "outbreak" and therefore his first time in the daycare.

It had started when little Robbie Chase had been brought up from the daycare with a fever and a nasty rash. It was a classic case of Scarlett fever. One of the other pediatric doctors had written up his prescription while a nurse calmed Cameron down, and that had been that. But then 3 more kids from the same section of the daycare had come in with identical rashes and fevers. There were twelve kids in the toddler room of the daycare, one third of them had gone home sick, that officially classified it as an "outbreak". Or at least that's what the other doctors in pediatrics had told Kutner before handing him a pair of latex gloves and a thermometer.

"I hate being the newbie." Kutner mumbled under his breath, as he opened the door to the daycare.

The small room used for the toddlers in daycare was already buzzing with anxiety when Kutner walked in, or at least the teacher was. Most of the kids were scattered around the room, laughing and playing as usual, but the teacher was bouncing nervously around, stopping to check on every child for just a moment before moving to the next. In her worry, she hadn't even noticed Kutner walking in.

"Ms. Harvey?"

The woman looked up from pulling a block out of a little boy's mouth and there was an obvious look of relief on her face. She dropped the block and walked over to Kutner.

"Hi, you must be Dr. Kutner."

"Yeah, I have to take all the kids temperatures and make sure they don't have a rash." He explained, his hands sweating slightly in the gloves. Ms. Harvey nodded,

"Right, of course. Hold on a second," Ms. Harvey turned to the kids and cleared her throat, "Okay boys and girls!"

Most of the little kids looked up at her expectantly and she offered a warm smile.

"This is Dr. Kutner, he has to take your temperature, and then when he's done we can all go outside and play! So I need you to get in a line by my feet, single file!"

After a few seconds hesitation, one little girl stood up and stood obediently at Ms. Harvey's feet. Soon the other children did too, deciding that going outside was worth getting their temperature taken. Ms. Harvey stepped aside and Kutner kneeled down at the first little girl,

"Hey there, what's your name?" he asked, taking the cap off the thermometer and putting the protective film on.

"Hayden." She answered around the thumb in her mouth.

"Alright Hayden, have you been feeling sick at all?" Kutner asked her, tucking her a lock of her long dark hair back and sticking the thermometer in her ear.

"No. But my bwother is sick. So is I too?" The little girl questioned, taking her thumb out of her mouth. Just as Kutner was about to answer the thermometer clicked and he took it out of her ear, reading the display,

"No fever. Can I look at your tummy for a second?"

Hayden nodded and lifted up the bottom of her shirt, showing that she had no rash. Kutner smiled,

"You're fine. Why don't you go see Ms. Harvey?"

Hayden stuck her thumb back in her mouth and hurried over to her teacher while a little boy stepped forward. Kutner gave a forced smile,

"Hey there, what's your name?"

For the next few minutes Kutner checked the kids, each one perfectly fine. When he had determined that the last one was healthy Ms. Harvey smiled, addressing the children.

"Who's ready to go outside?" she asked, earning a unanimously happy response from the toddlers. She laughed,

"Okay, everyone get with your buddies."

She walked over to Kutner as the kids scrambled around, looking for their buddies.

"Thanks for coming to make sure they're okay. We don't want the all getting sick." she said sweetly. Kutner realized for the first time just how pretty she was and he grinned goofily.

"No problem, after all it is my job."

Ms. Harvey laughed and was going to say something else when she felt a tug on her pant leg.

"Ms. Harvey!" It was Hayden, her thumb once again in her mouth. Ms. Harvey crouched down, gently moving the little girl's hand away from her face.

"Yes Hayden?"

"Will you be my buddy?"

Ms. Harvey frowned, "Hayden, you're supposed to be Leia's buddy, remember?"

"Leia not here" The little girl said matter of factly, looking over her shoulder at the other children all lined up in pairs. Ms. Harvey stood up, her frown growing, and turned to Kutner,

"You didn't happen see a little girl with a Chewbacca doll did you?" She asked. Kutner shook his head,

"No, I think I'd remember that."

"Hang on a second, I have to go find her..." she walked off to the corner of the room, pushing aside one of the bookshelves and sighing audibly.

"Leia, what did I tell you about hiding back here?" Ms. Harvey was crouched down, talking to a little girl Kutner couldn't see. She said a few more things Kutner couldn't quite hear then stood up. He watched as she held her hand out until a tiny hand reached out from the small hiding spot and took hold of it. Then, as if out of nowhere, a little girl appeared and left Kutner momentarily breathless.

She was smaller than the other children, though she must have been around the same age. She had tan skin, and curly black hair that tumbled loosely down her back. He took notice of the many brightly colored jelly bracelets around her arm, which was clutching a stuffed Wookie tightly to her stomach. The thing that really got him though were her eyes. They were a beautiful shade of blue, or maybe it was green, that he had only seen once before. They looked so familiar, in fact the little girl in general looked familiar, but he couldn't place her.

"Sorry about that," Ms. Harvey apologized, still holding the little girl's hand as she stopped in front of Kutner, "She's always hiding."

Kutner nodded, kneeling down in front of the little girl and pulling out his thermometer again.

"Hey there, what's your name?" he asked for the eighth time, moving her hair away from her ear. The little girl didn't answer though, just held the wookie closer.

"Her name is Leia," Ms. Harvey filled in, "She doesn't talk at all. Not here anyways, her mother says she talks at home."

Kutner kept his smile up because he could see Leia watching him intently, but there was nothing good or humourous about his next statement,

"Has she seen a psychiatrist or at least a speech therapist?"

"Several, she just doesn't talk in public."

"Did the mom tell you that?"

"We have the records."

The thermometer beeped just then and Kutner took it out of Leia's ear, looking down at the display and frowning.

"She's got a bit of a fever," he reported before looking up at Leia, "Can I look at your tummy Leia?"

There was no answer, he hadn't really expected there to be. Cautiously he reached out and lifted her shirt slightly, unsurprised when she recoiled at the touch. But he still lifted her shirt revealing the rash he had been expecting to see.

"You should probably call one of her parents." He instructed, dropping Leia's shirt and offering a weak smile to the little girl who responded by hugging her doll tighter and looking distressed. Ms. Harvey nodded and walked off to make the call while Kutner tried to make Leia feel a little more comfortable.

"So Leia, do you like Star Wars?" He asked playfully, causing Leia to step away from him and look anxiously around the room. Kutner sighed, watching her without saying anything more. Then, after a few moments Ms. Harvey came back over, looking slightly distressed.

"I just put a call in to her mother, but she's in surgery right now."

"I didn't know there were any women on the surgical team." Kutner blurted, confused.

"She's not a surgeon, the receptionist said it's one of her patients and she's observing to make sure everything goes okay."

"Okay," Kutner sighed, looking back at Leia who was staring at him, "Well what about her father?"

"She doesn't have one," Ms. Harvey blushed, realizing what she had said, "I mean he's not in the picture. It's only her mom. But the receptionist said that the surgery was almost over, and she would send her down when it got out. I just don't think it's a very good idea to keep Leia with the other kids when she's contagious."

Kutner nodded in agreement, "Well, why don't you take the rest of the kids outside like you were going to? I can stay here with her until her mom comes." he offered, all hopes of ever having lunch slipping through his fingers. But it was worth it if meant maybe getting a date with Ms. Harvey, who at the moment looked impressed that he would offer to stay with Leia.

"Umm...okay. Thanks. Her mom should be down here soon," she hesitated, glancing down at Leia and tucking a strand of hair behind the little girl's ear, "And just don't take it personally if she moves away from you or doesn't want you to talk to her. She's extremely shy and she has a hard time communicating with others."

Kutner stayed with Leia while Ms. Harvey gathered the rest of the kids and, holding Hayden's hand, led them out to go play in the hospital's playground. Leia watched them, her eyes wide, and let out a quiet whimper, pointing out the door they had just left.

"No, you have to stay in here and wait for your mommy to come get you." Kutner told her, feeling his heart sink when tears welled up in her beautiful eyes. He had seen that look before, that exact same look. The eyes big and shining, the face contorted in a twisted sort of sadness, the bottom lip twitching just slightly. But he couldn't place it, and became more distracted by Leia's quiet sobbing.

"Shhh," he said gently. Glancing around he located a box of tissues on one of the tables and grabbed it, carrying it back over to where Leia stood and setting it on the ground. Then, he reached out slowly, so not to scare her, and put one hand on her back, rubbing it soothingly. Leia's initial reaction was to move away from him, hugging her wookie tighter, but after a few moments she seemed to get more comfortable. She visibly relaxed, allowing Kutner to touch her, and soon after her tears subsided. Kutner smiled,

"There we go," he took a tissue and gently wiped her eyes and nose, "See? it's okay."

Leia stared at him for a long moment, then dragged her arm across her eyes as if to wipe away any last tears. Kutner smiled at her, but the gesture was not returned as she brought her doll up just below her eyes and studied him from over it. Finally, one arm released the wookie doll and she took a step closer to Kutner, grabbing two of his fingers in her tiny hand and pulling him towards the cubbies in the back of the room. Surprised, Kutner could do nothing but follow as she led him to the cubbies and pointed up into one of them.

"You want your bag?" He asked, looking along the rows of bags for one that might stand out as Leia's and found it, a backpack in the shape of R2-D2. Smirking, Kutner took the bag down from the cubby and handed it to Leia, who set it on the ground and unzipped it. After some digging, she pulled out a picture book and held it up to Kutner, who took it and laughed,

"Your mommy bought you a Star Wars picture book? I want to meet her. Come on, let's read it." Kutner held out his hand and Leia hesitantly took hold of it, following him over to the rug, where he sat down with the book. Leia surprised him, sitting down next to him and leaning against him slightly. Kutner couldn't help but grin down at her, and in return she looked up at him in annoyance and hit the cover of the book.

"Alright, alright," he opened to the first page and Leia leaned in closer as he began to read, "Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away..."

They were halfway through the picture book when the door opened and Kutner felt Leia bolt up from her spot next to him. She ran to the doorway where her mother now stood,

"Hey princess." Her mother said with a sad smile, scooping Leia up into her arms and kissing her on the forehead. She didn't notice Kutner, now standing on the rug staring at her in disbelief,

"Thirteen?"

Suddenly it was if the world had slowed down until it was hardly moving. Thirteen looked up at Kutner with the same gorgeous eyes he had recognized in Leia. Of course it was her, he should have known, he should have remembered. But it had been almost three years since he last saw her, three years since he saw the tears in those beautiful eyes. Three years he had been alone.

"K-Kutner? you work in the daycare?"

He shook his head as she walked over to him, Leia cuddled against her chest comfortably.

"No, I work in pediatrics, four other kids were sick I had to come down here and make sure none of the other kids were, but..." he gestured to Leia and Thirteen nodded,

"Oh..." she looked down at the little girl in her arms and under her breath mumbled, "Cuddy should have told me you were here."

He wasn't meant to hear it. It was a statement made for her to hear, and no one else, but still he caught it and a wave of confusion hit him. She didn't want to see him? Why wouldn't she want to see him? He looked down at Leia again and it hit him.

"How old is she?" he asked shakily, not taking his eyes off the sleepy little girl in Thirteen's arms.

"Kutner..."

"No, seriously how old is she? Because her skin is darker than yours, and so is her hair. And I know you don't like Star Wars _that _much, and I know you know I do. And there was that one time where we..." he trailed off, his thoughts in a frenzy and finally looked up to meet Thirteen's eyes, finding the same expression Leia had worn when the other kids had gone out to play and left her with him.

"I think," she began, taking a deep breath, "we need to talk."

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**A/N: Review?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow, thanks for the great response to the first chapter everyone! So here's the second chapter, and it's going back into the past approximately 3 years, give or take. **

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3 minutes, and her fate would be sealed.

Remy couldn't help but stare uselessly at the small plastic stick in her hands, praying over and over that there would just be one little pink line, not two. Because if there were two little pink lines, then...

"Fuck it." Remy said shaking the thoughts from her head and standing up, placing the stick on the corner of the sink and walking out of the room. She couldn't think about it yet, she would drive herself crazy. Instead she walked into her apartment's small kitchen and grabbed the teakettle from the stove, carrying it over to the sink and turning on the water.

"I really need one of those instant hot water coffee makers," she mused quietly, filling the old fashioned tin kettle and placing it back on the stove, which she turned on. She had been meaning to get one of the instant hot water machines ever since they had gotten one in the doctor's lounge and she had marveled at the quickness which the machine ejected hot water into her cup, but she knew it must be expensive. _Everything _in her life was expensive, student loans she was still paying off, rent, a coffee machine wasn't a necessity, and therefore it was just wishful thinking. She couldn't possibly afford a new coffee maker now.

_Especially if I am pregnant _she thought, glancing at the digital clock on the stove. It had only been one minute, but it took everything she had not to run into the bathroom. Her knuckles turned white as she grasped the counter and dropped her head. How the hell could this have happened? She knew to be careful, she knew not to be stupid when sleeping with people, but...Maybe it was because she knew him, because he wasn't some stranger from a bar that she had let her guard down.

In the end it was really her own stupidity. She had trusted him, and he had trusted her, and the only thing they hadn't counted on was the .1 percent of times that the pill wasn't effective. The odds were in their favor, but because they didn't use any other kind of protection, they still had that slight chance of her getting pregnant. And now...

Remy finally released her grip on the counter, blinking back the tears stinging her eyes. Glancing up at the clock she realized she had been standing there for two minutes longer than necessary, and laughed slightly at her own stupidity. The test would surely be ready by now, but somehow she felt like if she tried to move her legs they might just collapse under her. So she stood, staring at the clock until another minute passed and she sighed shutting her eyes and letting a few tears sneak out. It was time.

The world seemed to slow down as Remy walked out of the kitchen on legs that felt barely more solid than gelatin. She hesitated outside the bathroom door, running her fingers along the smooth brass knob without any real grasp on it. Then, she took a deep breath and shut her eyes,

"Like ripping off a band-aid" she mumbled, pushing the door open and stepping inside. Then, her eyes opening quickly she caught sight of the test sitting on the sink and her heart dropped. That was not just one line, it wasn't even one line and one faint line, those were two bold pink lines. In the split second it took her mind to process that information Remy realized that she was screwed. It took her a bit longer to realize that she was crying, warm tears tracing familiar paths down her cheeks as she sat on the closed toilet.

This couldn't be happening, this really couldn't be happening. She had always been so careful, it had just been _one _time, and now she was really fucked. There was no way she could kill a baby, let alone her own. It was wrong, she couldn't live with herself. But it wasn't fair to push a kid that may or may not have Huntington's onto some poor, unsuspecting adoptive family. Remy wished there was another option, maybe one that involved going back in time and not having sex with Kutner to begin with, no matter how good he was.

"Dear God, if you do exist, let this test be fucked up. Or even let my hormones be fucked up. That I can deal with. They have _solutions_ to problems like that. There is no solution to being pregnant. Oh, fucking god." she prayed, slamming the test violently into the trash and throwing her head back.

And then she heard the knock.

Remy glanced out through the lit between the door and the doorjam at her front door, waiting for another knock. It came, followed by three others and finally,

"Thirteen! I know you're in there, I saw your car parked in the lot."

Remy's breath caught in her throat and she laughed slightly, despite herself. Getting up slowly she walked to the front door and peering through the peephole, confirmed her suspicions. Taub was standing on the other side.

"What do you want?" she called back, not in any hurry to let him in.

"House sent me to see why you aren't in work."

"I'm sick."

"No you're not. You seemed fine when you left yesterday. Let me in."

"Or what?"

"Or I'll break in."

Remy was tempted to laugh, but realized he wasn't kidding. He had been working for House long enough to break into someone's apartment, and they had already broken into hers once before. She reached for the door knob, then remembered that she was crying.

"Hang on," she said shakily, rushing into the bathroom to see what she could do, but it was no use. Her eyes were swollen and bright red tear stains marked her cheeks. She couldn't cover them up, not quickly enough, and she was still crying anyways. She stared in the mirror a moment longer, trying to think of any way she could get out of this. And then it hit her,

_The fire escape _She hesitated for only a second, the pros outweighing the cons, then dashed out of the bathroom and straight into Taub who was now standing in her foyer.

Fuck.

"How did you-"

"You have a spare key under your mat." he said, matter of factly, a grin on his face until he realized she was crying. She could tell when he realized it, because there was a look of shock and regret on his face. He hadn't meant to see her like this, he knew she didn't like people to see her when she was vulnerable and yet he had broken in anyway. He bowed his head,

"So, I'll just tell House you're sick then?" He asked. Remy's voice caught in her throat, she had expected a full interrogation, but she smiled weakly in appriciation,

"Okay."

Taub gave a small nod, then turned to leave. As he started to go though, Remy felt a tug in her chest. She felt alone, more alone than she had ever felt.

"Wait." she said suddenly, surprising even herself. Tuab turned and looked at her and Remy blushed, not sure what to say. Luckily, she was saved by the hissing of her teakettle in the kitchen,

"Umm, do you want some tea?" she asked over the deafening hiss. Tuab stared at her for a moment, then nodded,

"Sure."

Remy nodded in confirmation, leading the way into the kitchen and taking the tea kettle off the stove as Taub took a seat at the table.

"Green tea okay?"

"Sure." Taub said, watching her take down two tea cups and saucers and grab a couple of tea bags. Her hands were shaking violently, although she didn't seem to notice it. He watched as she attempted to pour the hot water into one of the cups,

"Ah!" Remy placed the teakettle back down and drew back her hand, cradling it in her other hand and frowning. Her shaking hands had caused her to move the kettle mid pour, scalding her pale skin and leaving a bright red mark.

"Here, why don't you let me do that." Taub offered, standing up and taking the kettle from her. Remy nodded absentmindedly, taking her own seat at the table and blinking back hot tears of frustration and embarrassment. She ran the thumb of her opposite hand over the burn, flinching at the dull sting it caused. Then Taub set a cup in front of her and she mumbled her thanks, wrapping her hands around the cup and refusing to look up at him. They sat in silence for a few moments before he finally spoke,

"What's wrong?"

Remy looked up, slightly surprised, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, why are you crying?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"If you didn't want to talk about it, you wouldn't have told me to wait." Taub said matter of factly. Remy stared at him, not sure how to answer. Did she want to tell him? She hadn't been planning on telling anybody. She hadn't been planning at all actually, she had bought the test with an almost certain feeling that it would be negative. There were plenty of things that could make your period late, stress, medications, anything. She hadn't expected it to be positive, but since it was she had to deal with it. She had to tell someone...right?

"I...I..." The words caught in her throat and more tears escaped. Saying it was harder than it would seem. Two words, that's all it was. She took a deep breath.

"I'm pregnant."

The words hung in the air as the truth was out. She expected more shock from Taub than he displayed,

"Partying life finally caught up with you?"

"No!" the tears were even worse now and Taub frowned. Then, suddenly, it was like a light had gone off over his head,

"House sent _me_ because he thinks you're sleeping with either Kutner or Foreman, and he can't figure out which...who is it?"

Remy looked down, shaking her head.

"It's not Kutner or Foreman?"

"It is."

"Foreman?"

Remy hesitated, then finally shook her head and looked back up at Taub.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," she admitted quietly, "It was just one time, I was on the pill, I...I don't know."

"There's always-"

"Don't you dare say abortion," Remy interjected forcefully, "I would never do that, I couldn't."

Taub sighed, "On the other hand, you could put it up for adoption."

"And if it has Huntington's? I'd be giving a family a baby without a chance. I can't do that."

"So you have to keep it." Taub said finally. Remy nodded,

"I know. I know I do, but I don't want Kutner to know about the baby. He...he doesn't...he shouldn't have to make sacrifices for a baby just because I don't want to kill it, it's not fair." at this point, Remy had given up on trying to stop the tears that were gushing from her bloodshot eyes. There was no use.

"Thirteen," Taub wished he knew her real first name, "You have to tell him. He deserves to know."

"No!" Remy could hardly breathe through her tears, "I can't d-do that to h-him" she choked out. Her heart was racing, her chest pounding. Suddenly, she realized what was happening and stood up, running from the kitchen into her living room and grabbing her inhaler off the coffee table and sinking down onto her knees as she shoved one end in her mouth and pressed down on the top, releasing the medicine. As she inhaled it, her heart slowing down, she felt Taub's hand on her shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked when she took the inhaler out of her mouth and placed it on the coffee table. She nodded, slightly confused when he picked up the inhaler and inspected it,

"What are you on?" he asked finally, holding up the inhaler. Remy sniffled,

"Advair."

"Not for the next nine months," Taub said, pocketing the inhaler, "It's not safe for your baby."

"Oh," Remy blushed, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. How stupid of her, she should have known that. Not thinking, she put a protective hand on her stomach and stood up again, leveling with Taub,

"I should go now, before House decides to come here himself." Taub said. Remy nodded, walking with him over to the door.

"Look, I know you have alot to think about but...I know some people at Mass General, I could probably get you a job there." He said, not looking Remy in the eye as he turned and left.

Remy watched him go from the doorway, wanting to thank him, but still rendered slightly speechless from her asthma attack. She did have alot to think about, but for the time being she shut the door and went into her bedroom, laying down with a sigh. Suddenly, she felt alone again.

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**A/N: So the end was kind of rushed, but I have a ton of Latin homework and I wanted this up for the new episode tonight. Review?**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hi everyone, thanks for the awesome reviews on the last chapter! Sorry this chapter took so long to get up. I could try coming up with excuses, but really? I've just had pretty bad writer's block. Anyways, this is a future chapter and yes, it has more of little Robbie Chase.**

"Excuse me, I need to speak to Dr. Cuddy."

Remy smiled politely at the young receptionist sitting outside of Cuddy's office, though inside she wanted nothing more than to simply barge into the office and give Cuddy a piece of her mind.

Three weeks she had been back, eighteen days really since she got one day off a week, and Cuddy hadn't bothered to mention that, oh yeah, the father of her daughter still worked in the hospital and could potentially bump into her at any time. Not to mention he worked in pediatrics, so if anything ever happened at the daycare he was likely to show up. Just like he had that morning.

"Just a moment please Dr…"  
"Hadley" Remy filled in and the receptionist nodded, her eyes fixed on the little girl in the doctor's arms as she pushed a button on the phone. She waited a moment, phone to ear, and then hung up.

"Dr. Cuddy is on a call right now. If you don't mind waiting a moment I can give her the message."

"Sure, that's fine"

The receptionist stood up and opened the door to Cuddy's office just enough to slip in, before shutting it again. Remy sighed, looking down at Leia in her arms. The little girl had been good so far, staying quiet while her parents had talked briefly in the daycare, planning to meet later that night to discuss things. She had only whined a little when Remy had taken her up to the pediatric ward and her normal pediatrician had examined her before writing a prescription for the medicine she needed to overcome the scarlet fever. Now though she was quiet again, almost asleep in her mother's arms, but Remy still felt bad. She knew Leia couldn't be very comfortable, and wanted nothing more than to go back to their apartment and get her to bed, but this was something she had to take care of first. She wasn't just going to let Cuddy get away with not telling her about Kutner.

"You can go in now." The receptionist said, pulling Remy out of her thoughts as she exited Cuddy's office and returned to her desk. Taking a final deep breath to keep herself from screaming, Remy pulled open the door to Cuddy's office and stepped inside. Cuddy was looking up at her nervously,

"Dr. Hadley, is everything alright?" Cuddy asked, quite obviously referring to the fact that Leia was nearly passed out in Remy's arms. The receptionist must have told Cuddy that she had Leia with her, Remy realized letting out the breath she had taken in and smiling a forced smile.

"Actually Dr. Cuddy, everything is not alright," Remy said and Cuddy's expression went from worried to confused, "See Leia caught scarlet fever in daycare. Which is obviously treatable, she'll be fine. But they found out because they had one of the pediatric residents come down and check out all the kids. Guess who the resident was."

There was a moment where Cuddy realized what had happened and looked down at her desk with a sigh,

"Dr. Hadley, please sit down." She said finally, gesturing to the chair opposite her desk. Remy hesitated for a moment, not wanting to give her the satisfaction of doing what she said, but also not wanting to seem like a small child refusing to listen to their parents just because they were angry with them. Finally, she sat down, adjusting Leia in her arms. Cuddy didn't say anything at first, and Remy knew she must have felt at least a little bit bad about what had happened.

"Look," Cuddy began, catching Remy's gaze and holding it, "As much as you're going to try to villainizes me here, this isn't my fault."

Remy felt a surge of anger well up inside of her. Not her fault? How could it not be her fault. She _knew _that Leia was Kutner's. She was one of the few that Remy had trusted with the information (although, originally, Remy had no intentions of telling her. Fate had taken care of that decision for her.) and she had completely abused it. But as Remy opened her mouth to protest Cuddy held up one finger and gave her a look that warned against interrupting,

"As Dean of Medicine it isn't my job to inform new employees of anyone else on the staff they may or may not have had an illegitimate child with three or so years ago. But I guess it is partially my fault. It wasn't fair to not let you know what you were getting into when you accepted the job. And for that I apologize."

Remy stared at Cuddy, wondering how she could stay so calm and professional at a time like this.

"Why did you even hire me?" Remy asked finally, her voice cracking slightly. She noticed for the first time the hot tears of betrayal that threatened to spill and reflexively held Leia tighter to her.

"Because you're a good doctor and because I needed another attending in the E.R."  
"You didn't even think that maybe you should have mentioned Kutner was still working here?"

"Dr. Hadley, I-"  
"No," Remy stood up angrily, causing Leia to give a start in her arms, "Do you realize the situation you've put me in? Kutner knows now. He _knows_ and I have to try to explain to him why I kept him in the dark the past three years!" She could hear her voice begin to rise, but didn't care, "I have to tell him that he has a two and a half year old daughter! How the hell do you tell someone that?" She would have continued the tirade, but suddenly there was a small whimper from her arms. Her anger was forgotten as she looked down into the big blue eyes staring up at her.

"Shhh, Leia, it's okay." Remy cooed softly, forgetting about Cuddy for a moment as she rubbed her daughter's back. The little girl let out another quiet whimper, then settled back against Remy's chest burying her face in her mother's shoulder. Remy bit her bottom lip, looking back up at Cuddy who was watching her sympathetically.

"Dr. Hadley, I am sorry for putting you in this position, but yelling at me isn't going to change anything."

"I know. I just… Do you think I could take the rest of the day off?" Remy gestured down at Leia, "She's really sick."  
"You'll have to ask Dr. Cameron, it's not up to me."

Remy nodded, looking down and turning to leave. As she was halfway out the door though, Cuddy stopped her,

"Dr. Hadley."

Remy turned around silently,

"I need to know in advance if you're going to quit."

"I'm not quitting," Remy said, "I have a responsibility to my daughter, to support her and make sure she has the best life possible," she laughed dryly, "I'm not really sure quitting my job is going to make that any easier. And after all, it's a little too late for that now."

Before Cuddy could say anything else, Remy was gone. She fought off the urge to cry again as she hurried down the hallway towards the E.R. Her anger was back, this time not only at Cuddy for causing the whole mess, but at herself for scaring Leia the way she had. She kissed Leia on the top of the head and sighed; the poor little girl couldn't help but get caught in the middle of everything.

"I'm sorry Princess, we can go home soon." Remy whispered over the _whoosh _of the automatic doors to the ER opening. She could feel that Leia's breathing was evening out again. Remy bet that she'd be asleep before they got home. She smiled slightly, thinking about her beautiful daughter, but that was short lived as she looked up and saw an anxious looking Cameron hurrying towards her.

"Remy, thank god you're back. Dr. Hamilton is out today, it's the new intern's first ER shift so she's totally useless, and we've got four hours worth of work in triage right now." Cameron said breathlessly. Then she noticed Leia in Remy's arms and frowned,

"Is she sick too?"

Remy nodded,

"Scarlet fever from the daycare. Why, did Robbie catch it?"

Cameron didn't answer, but turned around, waving for Remy to follow her as she wove through the crowds of nurses and patients in the room. Finally, she came to a small area in the corner that was curtained off. She pushed back the curtain and Remy couldn't help but give a small, "Awww"

Behind the curtain was one of the E.R. beds where little Robbie Chase lay fast asleep. His floppy blond hair was scattered messily about the pillow, and he wore a tiny pair of scrubs, much like his mothers, only in green instead of pink. Cameron smirked, walking over to stand next to the bed.

"We've been mobbed down here, and Robert is in the middle of a surgery so I snagged this bed and asked the intern to check in on him from time to time, it's about the only thing she's good for."

Remy smirked too, "Nice. But what's with the scrubs?"

Cameron blushed slightly, reaching down and brushing a few strands of hair from Robbie's face, "He was getting overheated in his other outfit, so I found him something lighter to wear." She explained, smiling as Robbie blinked up at her, yawning,

"Hey buddy." She said quietly, picking up the little boy. Remy smiled, watching as Robbie blinked a few more times, and then surveyed his surroundings.

"Leia!" He said happily after a moment and both Remy and Cameron grinned,

"That's right Robbie, its Leia, she's sick too." Cameron explained as Leia looked sleepily over at Robbie. Leia smiled slightly reaching one arm out to Robbie and keeping one around Remy's neck.

"Do you want to leave her here with him so we can actually get some work done?" Cameron asked. Remy sighed, looking down at Leia and nodding slightly,

"I don't really think I have much of a choice." She said sadly, not wanting to let go of her daughter. She had really wanted to get home, but Cameron needed her in the E.R., and she needed something to keep her mind off of the inevitable meeting with Kutner that night anyways. Following Cameron's lead she put Leia on the bed next to Robbie. The little girl seemed a bit upset at first, but quickly curled up with her friend. In a matter of moments the two were sleeping peacefully, their mothers watching over them.

"They're so cute." Remy said with a smile, holding Leia's tiny hand. Cameron nodded and suddenly a grin broke out on her face,  
"They really are like a married couple, sharing a bed and everything."

For the first time that day Remy laughed, remembering the "wedding" she had attended at the daycare. She looked up at Cameron and for a moment contemplated asking her advice on the whole Kutner situation. The opportunity was ruined however by the sound of the intern calling Cameron's name. Quickly, Cameron dashed off and Remy sighed, casting one more glance at Leia before doing the same. There would be time to worry about her own life later; right now she had other lives to save.

**A/N: Awww. Just a note, there are some things referenced in this chapter (i.e. Cuddy knowing that Leia is Kutner's and Robbie and Leia's "wedding") that will be mentioned in upcoming chapters, so if it doesn't really make sense now it will soon. So anyways please review and I'll try to be faster with the next chapter.**

**-Remy**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So... it's been awhile. My only explanation to offer you is "life happened". I can't guarantee that I'll be updating again anytime soon after this, but stick around, you never know. Also, sorry if this is terrible, it's mostly written with the aid of insomnia.**

The lights in the differential room seemed especially bright that morning.

Thirteen dropped her head into her hands and took a deep breath, trying to listen as House described their latest case to them. 20 something year old female, photophobia, something about her weight. The file was open on the table before her, but Thirteen couldn't bring herself to read it. Her head was pounding, and she could only relate the feeling to her first hangover. The worst in that she had no idea what to expect as to how bad it would get, or when it intended to go away.

The others were spouting off ideas, stupid ideas. Even she had enough sense to know that it was,

"Lupus."

Looking up, Thirteen found that three of the four men in the room were staring at her in surprise. House stared silently for a moment, and then a small smile of approval crossed his features.

"Good, Taub and Foreman go treat her with-"

"But you said it's never Lupus." Kutner interjected.

"It's never Lupus... except when it IS." House stated simply, before turning to Taub and Foreman, "Seriously, go treat her."

With shared bewildered glances, the men left, and House departed shortly after mumbling something about winning a bet with Wilson.

Thirteen sighed, grateful for the silence, and dropped her head into her hands once more. But her relief was short lived.

"Hey," Kutner said, his voice indicating that he had moved closer, "Are you okay? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine." She mumbled, shutting her eyes against the painful brightness of the room.

The headaches were a new installment in her carousel of pregnancy symptoms, having started just as the morning nausea had receded. On one hand, they were better, because they were easier to hide or, when that didn't work, to explain. Sure, Foreman had lectured her about coming into work hung over, and House had mentioned it in passing, but she was thankful at least that this symptom wasn't pregnancy specific. She was sure that the nausea had raised some eyebrows, but it had been hidden well enough that speculations never aired themselves.

"You don't look fine."

With some difficulty Thirteen willed herself to lift her head and look up at Kutner. He was standing beside her, worry etched into the features of his face. She managed a weak smile.

"I guess I'm just tired. Let's go get coffee in the cafeteria."

"There's coffee right-"

"Decaf."

"Oh, right." Kutner turned away, reaching into his bag for his wallet. He took the moment to silently remind himself to cool it. Things had changed between himself and Thirteen lately, though he wasn't sure why. Suddenly she had stopped returning his calls, and then she had started coming into work sick every morning, looking like she had been through hell and back and never offering any explanation. Kutner frowned internally, he _knew _that back in her college days Thirteen had dealt with serious partying issues, but accepting that she was in relapse was more than he could do. He just wanted his best friend back.

The loud thud of her hitting the floor shocked him out of his thoughts.

* * *

The lights in the ER when Thirteen woke up were no better than those in the differential room. In fact, they seemed exponentially worse, but Remy reasoned that her increased pain probably had more to do with falling than the brightness of the lighting in the ER.

She remembered that at least, falling. It had happened in what felt like slow motion. One second, she had been standing up from her chair. The next, everything began to spin, and a sharp pain shot through her temples, crippling her, and then she fell.

How she had ended up in the ER with an IV supplying fluids though was a mystery to her. All she knew was that she needed to get away before Cuddy, or anyone else for that matter, came around asking questions.

But just as Thirteen sat up and reached to pull out her IV, there was a _woosh _and her heart sank.

"Dr. Hadley, I see you're awake."

Her hands shaking, Thirteen turned towards the figure now standing by the end of her bed.

"Why are you-"

Cuddy cut her off, "Dr. Cameron went into pre-term labor earlier this morning, I'm covering until her replacement comes in."

"Oh." Thirteen replied dryly, subconsciously crossing her arms over her stomach as Cuddy made a note on her chart. As her headache raged on, her stomach seemingly began to tie itself into knots, and her chest felt like it could have been caving in. She tried to come up with a reasonable explanation for everything- the puking, the headaches, the fainting. But she knew that Cuddy would have done a tox. screen, or would order one if she hadn't already. Once that came back negative for drugs and alcohol, Thirteen would need a new excuse. Anything but the truth.

"You fainted," Cuddy began at last, "because you were severely dehydrated. We're flooding you with fluids now, you should be ready to go in about an hour. You hit your head on the way down, but no concussion."

Thirteen watched as the older woman put down the chart and turned to leave. Part of her wanted to let her leave, act like she didn't know anything. But she knew that there was more to this story. Cuddy was almost as bad as House as far as answers went. She would never simply walk away without an answer, especially in matters involving her staff.

"That's it?"

Cuddy turned around in surprise, and Thirteen mustered up the little strength she currently possessed to stare unblinkingly back at her. Cuddy too retained her composure as she walked back and stood next to Thirteen's bed.

"When you were brought down here, Dr. Kutner said that you appeared to be hung over before losing consciousness."

"So you ran the tox screen and found-"

Cuddy interrupted, "I ran the typical ER work up. Drugs and alcohol came back negative, but the pregnancy test..."

"Came back positive." Thirteen deadpanned, trying to stay calm. It wasn't that she didn't want Cuddy to know, she had been planning to turn in her two weeks notice as soon as she found an apartment in Boston anyways, it was more that she didn't want someone else finding out. Thirteen knew that if Kutner found out, even if he didn't think it was his, she knew she would tell him.

"I'm assuming the dehydration has something to do with the morning sickness," Cuddy said matter of factly, sitting on the edge of the bed, "I can prescribe you anti-nausea pills, but it should go away by the end of the first trimester anyways."

"That's... it? No lecture, no 20 questions?"

Cuddy stared silently for a moment, studying the woman in front of her. She almost appeared to be a stranger, a mere shadow of House's former fellow. Underneath her composed expression it was clear that she was terrified. Her once radiant skin was pale and lifeless, save for the dull "pregnancy glow" her hormones were projecting. Finally, Cuddy sighed,

"I was hoping that I could trust you, as a doctor, to make smart decisions for yourself _and _your baby. Unfortunately, I can see that's not the case. Are you taking any pre-natal vitamins?"

At last Thirteen broke her gaze, glancing guiltily down at her stomach, and then letting her eyes wander.

"No." she answered finally, looking back at Cuddy.

The older doctor sighed, "Have you even had any prenatal care?"

"No."

"Are you planning on keeping the baby?"

There was suddenly a palpable tension in the air. Thirteen moved her arms away from her stomach as if it had become red hot, and suddenly she found herself wishing she had never called Cuddy back.

" I... don't know."

"Judging by your bump," Cuddy said, gesturing to Thirteen's stomach, the roundness of which having been made obvious by the way she was sitting, "I'd say it's a little late for an abortion, which means you're at least planning on carrying to term. And if that _is _the case, you need to be taking care of this baby. If your baby deteriorates, your pregnancy could become toxic. You're not only risking your baby's life, you're risking your _own _life... I'm writing you a prescription for prenatal vitamins and a referral to an OB/GYN at Princeton General, although I'm sure you won't accept either of them."

Thirteen looked away again, then took a deep breath.

"I'll take the prescription, but... I'm leaving Princeton. Taub got me a job at Mass. General. I was planning on turning in my two weeks notice as soon as I found an apartment."

Cuddy nodded in understanding, "Alright, I'll write you the prescription and a referral to an OB/GYN I know at Beth Israel Boston."

She stood to leave and Thirteen felt a sudden pang of something that felt suspiciously like loneliness.

"Wait."

Cuddy raised an eyebrow, and Thirteen blushed,

"Could you just... not tell anyone about this?"

Cuddy smiled reassuringly, "Doctor patient confidentiality," she stated calmly before walking out of the curtained cubicle.

Thirteen sighed, settling back against the pillows and moving her hands back to her stomach. She had _a lot _to think about.


End file.
